Colombian bishops denounce rebel killing of hostages

The Catholic bishops of Colombia have issued a statement condemning the execution of 4 people who had been held for over a decade by the country’s leading rebel group.

The four hostages, who had been held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), were shot by their captors on November 26 after government troops made an effort to rescue them. One hostage fled the scene and survived.

Mourning the slain hostages, the Colombian bishops said that they were “grieved by the manner in which the hope of them returning to their homes, alive and safe, was shattered.” The bishops’ statement lamented the “cruel reality of human beings whose dignity has been damaged by the violation of their fundamental rights and whose lives have been mercilessly cut off.”

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In 2002, when the government was weaker, the FARC kidnapped 12 Colombian legislators. In late June or early July 2007, Colombian forces were near to rescuing them. The FARC killed 11 of the men. Colombians were outraged. Millions filled the streets of the major cities in protest marches against the FARC.